You might want to collaborate with some people who are building existing lexicographical infrastructures. Have a look at this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/161 . You might also want to check out E. O. Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life at http://www.eol.org/ . (He's also got a TED talk where he won the TED prize for the year.) Both of these people are doing grand, sweeping thinking about ways to use the web to redefine the way we think and use language, pictures and taxonomy, all of which you'll need to think about as you're developing this idea. You might see if you can eventually get some phone time with them and see how they solved similar problems you may encounter, like a structure for crowdsourcing. I'd love to see how this idea develops! I'll be very interested to see how you illustrate abstractions. Good luck!
